Educational games: a plus for my child?

Perhaps you still hesitate … What will you offer him? A classic toy to solicit your imagination or a touch pad to develop your learning? Two specialists help you make the right choice.

Michiel Boonekamp, ​​marketing director of LeapFrog France

“It’s because he’s learning things that a kid keeps playing”

“For a child, to play is to learn, and it is because he learns things that he continues to play, he discovers the world by exploring and having fun in a natural way. toys, our goal is to encourage him to learn new things because he wants to understand the environment around him, but keeping in mind that not all children are going at the same pace. who plays does not want to be bored, but he does not want to be confronted with failure either, so it is important to adapt the game and the learning to the needs of each one.The fun-educational activities are not better. or less well than a traditional toy.This is another way to approach the game and learning provided you do not abuse: 20 minutes a day on a tablet enough. I am convinced that a child also needs to do nothing. “

Marluce Leitgel-Gille, Clinical Psychologist

“Boredom makes it possible to build one’s imaginary world”

“Free play allows the child to organize his psychic life and his emotions.It is essential to respect that time for him to build his free play, without judgment.These privileged moments of freedom of creation allow him to to develop conflicts peculiar to his psychological development, such as the oedipal complex. I do not believe that learning is necessarily opposed to play, but by imposing learning in the game, the two are lost. The risk is that the child no longer likes learning, especially at school, and he can not play either because he will not be bored. But being bored allows him to build his imaginary world. I am not against educational games, but parents are reassured: a child, who grows harmoniously, will naturally be attracted to knowledge and wonder about the world around him. No need to anticipate his questions, let’s play them! “